Zuma summons cabinet ministers to a meeting – report

This is a developing story and we’ll update as information becomes available. Refresh your browser to see the latest. Update: Ministers have told that there was nothing special about the meeting called – despite the fact that ministers cancelled other commitments. Ooh la la. According to eNCA, President Jacob Zuma has summoned cabinet ministers to a meeting […]

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 20: Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa, waits to address the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters, September 20, 2017 in New York City. The most pressing issues facing the assembly this year include North KoreaÕs nuclear ambitions, violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar, and the debate over climate change.

This is a developing story and we’ll update as information becomes available. Refresh your browser to see the latest.

Update: Ministers have told that there was nothing special about the meeting called – despite the fact that ministers cancelled other commitments.

Ooh la la. According to eNCA, President Jacob Zuma has summoned cabinet ministers to a meeting to his home in Cape Town. Right now, everything is speculation. We don’t know the substance of the meeting – and it could just be that everyone is going to have a sit down for a nice cup of tea and a chat about SONA 2018.

Fikile Mbalula, meanwhile, has denied that a cabinet meeting has been called.

https://twitter.com/MbalulaFikile/status/960791033310318592

However, Minister Jeff Radebe cancelled a scheduled press briefing at the Mining Indaba without giving a reason.

Zuma is due to deliver the 2018 State of the Nation address on Thursday, but pressure for him to resign keeps on growing. By now you’re probably aware of why: you know, Nkandla, State Capture… the list goes on.

Anyway. Since Cyril Ramaphosa was elected as party president at the ANC elective conference last year, rumours around Zuma’s future have been rife. There have been talks about his allies in the ANC top six trying to negotiate an exit deal.

Right now, though, everything is just speculation. We know nothing. But what we do know is that these meetings are raising plenty of eyebrows.

Ramaphosa has been preaching ‘stability’ since taking over as ANC president and going on his Davos trip. But these meetings, unscheduled, unusual, don’t exactly make things look very stable.

There’s also the chance that SONA might still be postponed. Again, pure speculation, but that option is not off the table. Should that happen, it would be completely and totally unprecedented.

ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe hinted earlier this week that Zuma might be asked to step down. Prior to a meeting with the president, Mantashe was quoted as saying:

“We want to ensure that there is stability in the country and stability in the ANC. That is why tonight [Sunday] we are meeting with President Zuma,” Mantashe said.